Currently, there are a few alleged shootings of unarmed citizens that are getting a lot of internet media attention as well as some mainstream media coverage. It’s often said that unnecessary violence toward animals is a gateway to unprovoked violence on humans. Police shooting dogs that aren’t a threat is on the rise. It’s called “puppycide”.All too often family dogs are killed on the premises of homes where their non-violent and non-criminal human owners live. As the numbers of dogs of all types are killed without or with very little provocation, the police circle their wagons and explain procedures were followed properly, or they don’t respond to queries at all.

Sometimes it’s easy to get a little nervous, paranoid, and panic, using a firearm hastily. But most puppycide accounts involve situations that your grandmother could handle without violence.Or they are actually so non-threatening that the shootings could be considered sadistic slayings, thrill killings, or target practice on helpless live creatures.

What about a German Shepard chained in a garage, or a dog already captured by animal control in an open garage? Some are shot multiple times while helpless from being tasered.

Or an under 20 pound dog running away from his masters’ car after they were pulled over falsely, no infraction, merely a suspicion. A shotgun at close range was used on it. That episode is shown clearly in the Puppycide trailer at the end of this article.

And what about a five pound Chihuahua mix cornered on its own open front porch by local police and shot with three 9 mm hollow points.

Overly militarized raids based on faulty tips or even raids on the wrong addresses, occur with SWAT teams crashing through doors at early morning hours with guns drawn or even blazing. And they’re not relegated to trashy, crime ridden neighborhoods.

[box]Even a small town Maryland mayor’s upscale home was “raided” in this manner. Both his black Labrador retrievers were shot multiple times and killed.[/box]

The mayor’s wife was the victim of a smuggling scheme using innocent homes as drop points for FedEx drug deliveries to be snatched off the doorstep or porch by a dealer before being opened by the occupant. A large amount of marijuana was detected in a package with the mayor’s address before being placed into the delivery truck.

Instead of confiscating the package and investigating further, the county Keystone cops were itching to have their thrilling guns drawn raid, enabling them to shoot and kill two family dogs with impunity. And they did that as the broke down the door and ran into the home.

The estimate of a family dog shot by law enforcement every 98 minutes was derived by anti-puppycide activists’ estimates from tallying news items and clips reporting family dog shooting incidents. Creating a totally unnecessary, bogus drug war and militarizing police is a road to hell paved with ostensibly “good intentions”.

A couple of dog owning film makers decided to create a documentary on puppycide, but it seems they had to fold their tent when their “kickstarter” fund raiser failed to meet its target within the designated time frame.

But their first trailer, which includes an update on that small town Maryland mayor’s lawsuit, is still available for viewing here:

Occasionally (Rarely) It is the Dog Owner’s Fault

One such episode was highly publicized with videos that went viral when Leon Rosby’s large Rottweiler was shot and killed in Los Angeles County. The whole thing could have been prevented had Leon not brought his dog to an area of police activity while he openly taunted them for several minutes. Even the person who shot the video thought Leon was out of line and “pushing the envelope”.

Instead of taking the dog home, Leon left the dog unattended in his car parked nearby with the window open enough for the dog to heroically rush to Leon’s defense while he was being willingly handcuffed as part of his public protest. Even if Leon’s dog were not shot and killed, it may have been abandoned in the car indefinitely while Leon was in jail. That’s owner negligence.

The cop who shot Leon’s dog tried at first to let the dog sniff the back of his hand, then reached for the leash to contain it. Instead, the dog lunged at the police officer, who shot the dog once. When the dog recoiled and lunged toward the cop again, he fired three more shots into the dog, killing it.

Leon was technically interfering with non-violent police activity away from his home. Authority is not so tolerant of being taunted. So this is a rare story that makes shooting a dog the owner’s fault in my opinion. Unfortunately, that LA County episode created more cop hatred than deserved.

But for the most part, cops are on shooting sprees with dogs, and most of it goes unnoticed.

Paul Fassais a contributing staff writer for REALfarmacy.com. His pet peeves are the Medical Mafia’s control over health and the food industry and government regulatory agencies’ corruption. Paul’s valiant contributions to the health movement and global paradigm shift are world renowned. Visit his blog by following this link and follow him on Twitter here.